Oligarchy in Action

Watch Lisa Lukas get dragged away from the public speaks part of her community meeting for calling out corruption. This is how big corporations operate in small communities. How often does this problem discussed on CNN, MSNBC, FOX, etc.?

If you search for "Lissa Lucas" and her appearance at a state legislative hearing, it is in the news. Example:

"Lissa Lucas, a Democratic state legislative candidate in West Virginia, tried to deliver testimony last week on a bill to expand companies' drilling rights for oil and gas. When she began to read a list of industry donations to state lawmakers, Lucas' microphone was cut off and she was eventually dragged away."

Watch Lisa Lukas get dragged away from the public speaks part of her community meeting for calling out corruption. This is how big corporations operate in small communities. How often does this problem discussed on CNN, MSNBC, FOX, etc.?

If you search for "Lissa Lucas" and her appearance at a state legislative hearing, it is in the news. Example:

"Lissa Lucas, a Democratic state legislative candidate in West Virginia, tried to deliver testimony last week on a bill to expand companies' drilling rights for oil and gas. When she began to read a list of industry donations to state lawmakers, Lucas' microphone was cut off and she was eventually dragged away."

The guy in the video makes a good point. If they had just let her speak, then no one would have ever heard about it. Now it's national news, so everyone gets to read or hear about the names she was trying to say.

" . . . The longer we are ruled by oligarchs, the deadlier our predicament becomes, especially since the oligarchs refuse to address climate change, t"he greatest existential crisis to humankind. The oligarchs have many mechanisms, including wholesale surveillance, to keep us in check. They will stop at nothing to maintain the sophistry of their rule. History may not repeat itself, but it echoes. And if we don’t recognize these echoes and then revolt, we will be herded into the abattoirs that tyrannies set up at the end of their existence."

" . . . The longer we are ruled by oligarchs, the deadlier our predicament becomes, especially since the oligarchs refuse to address climate change, t"he greatest existential crisis to humankind. The oligarchs have many mechanisms, including wholesale surveillance, to keep us in check. They will stop at nothing to maintain the sophistry of their rule. History may not repeat itself, but it echoes. And if we don’t recognize these echoes and then revolt, we will be herded into the abattoirs that tyrannies set up at the end of their existence."

I appreciate the message, but not the messenger, Chris Hedges. When it mattered, it was not convenient for him to join the side trying to keep Trump from being elected. He deliberately supported Jill Stein and argued against voting for the only viable alternative to Trump. He knew that Jill Stein was not going to win. As he wrote in his endorsement: "If Jill and the Green Party can get 5 percent of the vote we will have $10 million in federal funds in 2020 and broad, nationwide ballot access. This election is about building the momentum for this historical moment."

He did not care whether Trump won or not. That means that he did not care about the consequences of a Trump win. And that means that he did not care about protecting Dreamers, preserving environmental protections, protecting LGBTQ rights, protecting civil rights, protecting voting rights, protecting the rights of religious minorities, and much more. We knew how Trump would act in those areas, and he has acted that way.

So when Chris Hedges writes a “call to action” against oligarchy, I ignore him. He had a choice to take substantive action, and he chose not to. We don’t need lectures from someone who put his self-interest (as a fairly privileged white male) over the needs of the less vulnerable.

" . . . The longer we are ruled by oligarchs, the deadlier our predicament becomes, especially since the oligarchs refuse to address climate change, t"he greatest existential crisis to humankind. The oligarchs have many mechanisms, including wholesale surveillance, to keep us in check. They will stop at nothing to maintain the sophistry of their rule. History may not repeat itself, but it echoes. And if we don’t recognize these echoes and then revolt, we will be herded into the abattoirs that tyrannies set up at the end of their existence."

I appreciate the message, but not the messenger, Chris Hedges. When it mattered, it was not convenient for him to join the side trying to keep Trump from being elected. He deliberately supported Jill Stein and argued against voting for the only viable alternative to Trump. He knew that Jill Stein was not going to win. As he wrote in his endorsement: "If Jill and the Green Party can get 5 percent of the vote we will have $10 million in federal funds in 2020 and broad, nationwide ballot access. This election is about building the momentum for this historical moment."

He did not care whether Trump won or not. That means that he did not care about the consequences of a Trump win. And that means that he did not care about protecting Dreamers, preserving environmental protections, protecting LGBTQ rights, protecting civil rights, protecting voting rights, protecting the rights of religious minorities, and much more. We knew how Trump would act in those areas, and he has acted that way.

So when Chris Hedges writes a “call to action” against oligarchy, I ignore him. He had a choice to take substantive action, and he chose not to. We don’t need lectures from someone who put his self-interest (as a fairly privileged white male) over the needs of the less vulnerable.

Regardless of the messenger, and regardless of whether it's being covered adequately, it's a disgusting and horrifying level of corruption that the government should be addressing (and before that, press/people should be yelling and pressuring about). But much easier to freak out about the daily (hourly?) White House squirrels (yes, I do too ).

" . . . The longer we are ruled by oligarchs, the deadlier our predicament becomes, especially since the oligarchs refuse to address climate change, t"he greatest existential crisis to humankind. The oligarchs have many mechanisms, including wholesale surveillance, to keep us in check. They will stop at nothing to maintain the sophistry of their rule. History may not repeat itself, but it echoes. And if we don’t recognize these echoes and then revolt, we will be herded into the abattoirs that tyrannies set up at the end of their existence."

I appreciate the message, but not the messenger, Chris Hedges. When it mattered, it was not convenient for him to join the side trying to keep Trump from being elected. He deliberately supported Jill Stein and argued against voting for the only viable alternative to Trump. He knew that Jill Stein was not going to win. As he wrote in his endorsement: "If Jill and the Green Party can get 5 percent of the vote we will have $10 million in federal funds in 2020 and broad, nationwide ballot access. This election is about building the momentum for this historical moment."

He did not care whether Trump won or not. That means that he did not care about the consequences of a Trump win. And that means that he did not care about protecting Dreamers, preserving environmental protections, protecting LGBTQ rights, protecting civil rights, protecting voting rights, protecting the rights of religious minorities, and much more. We knew how Trump would act in those areas, and he has acted that way.

So when Chris Hedges writes a “call to action” against oligarchy, I ignore him. He had a choice to take substantive action, and he chose not to. We don’t need lectures from someone who put his self-interest (as a fairly privileged white male) over the needs of the less vulnerable.

I read his endorsement... You're interpretation (in bold above) is very strange. So because Chris Hedges didn't support HRC he is a defacto Trump supporter?

" . . . The longer we are ruled by oligarchs, the deadlier our predicament becomes, especially since the oligarchs refuse to address climate change, t"he greatest existential crisis to humankind. The oligarchs have many mechanisms, including wholesale surveillance, to keep us in check. They will stop at nothing to maintain the sophistry of their rule. History may not repeat itself, but it echoes. And if we don’t recognize these echoes and then revolt, we will be herded into the abattoirs that tyrannies set up at the end of their existence."

I appreciate the message, but not the messenger, Chris Hedges. When it mattered, it was not convenient for him to join the side trying to keep Trump from being elected. He deliberately supported Jill Stein and argued against voting for the only viable alternative to Trump. He knew that Jill Stein was not going to win. As he wrote in his endorsement: "If Jill and the Green Party can get 5 percent of the vote we will have $10 million in federal funds in 2020 and broad, nationwide ballot access. This election is about building the momentum for this historical moment."

He did not care whether Trump won or not. That means that he did not care about the consequences of a Trump win. And that means that he did not care about protecting Dreamers, preserving environmental protections, protecting LGBTQ rights, protecting civil rights, protecting voting rights, protecting the rights of religious minorities, and much more. We knew how Trump would act in those areas, and he has acted that way.

So when Chris Hedges writes a “call to action” against oligarchy, I ignore him. He had a choice to take substantive action, and he chose not to. We don’t need lectures from someone who put his self-interest (as a fairly privileged white male) over the needs of the less vulnerable.

I read his endorsement... You're interpretation (in bold above) is very strange. So because Chris Hedges didn't support HRC he is a defacto Trump supporter?

The answer to your question is that I wrote what I wrote, and I did not write that he was a Trump supporter. I wrote that he didn't care if Trump won. Whatever the negative consequences were for other people who were not like Chris Hedges, that's a risk he was willing to take.

I appreciate the message, but not the messenger, Chris Hedges. When it mattered, it was not convenient for him to join the side trying to keep Trump from being elected. He deliberately supported Jill Stein and argued against voting for the only viable alternative to Trump. He knew that Jill Stein was not going to win. As he wrote in his endorsement: "If Jill and the Green Party can get 5 percent of the vote we will have $10 million in federal funds in 2020 and broad, nationwide ballot access. This election is about building the momentum for this historical moment."

He did not care whether Trump won or not. That means that he did not care about the consequences of a Trump win. And that means that he did not care about protecting Dreamers, preserving environmental protections, protecting LGBTQ rights, protecting civil rights, protecting voting rights, protecting the rights of religious minorities, and much more. We knew how Trump would act in those areas, and he has acted that way.

So when Chris Hedges writes a “call to action” against oligarchy, I ignore him. He had a choice to take substantive action, and he chose not to. We don’t need lectures from someone who put his self-interest (as a fairly privileged white male) over the needs of the less vulnerable.

Many Americans would be surprised on who would be the less vulnerable. Because it is them.

I was looking at nursing homes for my mother. Many think of Medicaid being for the poor and primarily for people of color, another "welfare" entitlement. Think again. The nursing homes were mostly old women of which I would say about 90 to 95% were white. Middle class whites needing long term care costing about 13 to 14 K every month. Care that is not paid for by Medicare.

I suspect most of them were disdainful of Medicaid and its recipients. And, yet, here they sit, paid for by Medicaid. With Trump cutting Medicare and Medicaid.

I was looking at nursing homes for my mother. Many think of Medicaid being for the poor and primarily for people of color, another "welfare" entitlement. Think again. The nursing homes were mostly old women of which I would say about 90 to 95% were white. Middle class whites needing long term care costing about 13 to 14 K every month. Care that is not paid for by Medicare.

I suspect most of them were disdainful of Medicaid and its recipients. And, yet, here they sit, paid for by Medicaid. With Trump cutting Medicare and Medicaid.

Yep, I'm related to someone like that. Barb is 70-something and her mother just died after several years in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid. But Barb is a big Trump supporter. I have no idea if she's made the connection that Medicaid might not be there when she needs it.

" . . . The longer we are ruled by oligarchs, the deadlier our predicament becomes, especially since the oligarchs refuse to address climate change, t"he greatest existential crisis to humankind. The oligarchs have many mechanisms, including wholesale surveillance, to keep us in check. They will stop at nothing to maintain the sophistry of their rule. History may not repeat itself, but it echoes. And if we don’t recognize these echoes and then revolt, we will be herded into the abattoirs that tyrannies set up at the end of their existence."

I appreciate the message, but not the messenger, Chris Hedges. When it mattered, it was not convenient for him to join the side trying to keep Trump from being elected. He deliberately supported Jill Stein and argued against voting for the only viable alternative to Trump. He knew that Jill Stein was not going to win. As he wrote in his endorsement: "If Jill and the Green Party can get 5 percent of the vote we will have $10 million in federal funds in 2020 and broad, nationwide ballot access. This election is about building the momentum for this historical moment."

He did not care whether Trump won or not. That means that he did not care about the consequences of a Trump win. And that means that he did not care about protecting Dreamers, preserving environmental protections, protecting LGBTQ rights, protecting civil rights, protecting voting rights, protecting the rights of religious minorities, and much more. We knew how Trump would act in those areas, and he has acted that way.

So when Chris Hedges writes a “call to action” against oligarchy, I ignore him. He had a choice to take substantive action, and he chose not to. We don’t need lectures from someone who put his self-interest (as a fairly privileged white male) over the needs of the less vulnerable.

Chris Hedges has a larger world view of history than you do. He sees beyond one elections cycle to patterns of history. He knew where we were heading with HIllary Clinton and he could no longer support that system. He's a very religious man and he votes his conscious. . He sees the damage caused by 30 years of neoliberal policies and has seen historically how that kind of corrupt system leads to the election of fascists. He sees that continuing to vote for more neoliberal policies is just going to eventually give us a fascist. He wants people to stop voting for a system that will not benefit them and start calling for revolution. The Democrats are better than the Republicans, but they are still owned and operated by corporate interests so the environment or DACA are not their first concerns (as we saw demonstrated recently).

Chris Hedges has a larger world view of history than you do. He sees beyond one elections cycle to patterns of history. He knew where we were heading with HIllary Clinton and he could no longer support that system. He's a very religious man and he votes his conscious. . He sees the damage caused by 30 years of neoliberal policies and has seen historically how that kind of corrupt system leads to the election of fascists. He sees that continuing to vote for more neoliberal policies is just going to eventually give us a fascist. He wants people to stop voting for a system that will not benefit them and start calling for revolution. The Democrats are better than the Republicans, but they are still owned and operated by corporate interests so the environment or DACA are not their first concerns (as we saw demonstrated recently).

I have no idea who this guy is. Until I read this thread I had never heard of him.

However "eventually give us a fascist"? Eventually?

He wants people to "start calling for revolution"?

Really. "A revolution is not a dinner party. It is an act of violence by which one class supplants another".

Many Americans would be surprised on who would be the less vulnerable. Because it is them.

I was looking at nursing homes for my mother. Many think of Medicaid being for the poor and primarily for people of color, another "welfare" entitlement. Think again. The nursing homes were mostly old women of which I would say about 90 to 95% were white. Middle class whites needing long term care costing about 13 to 14 K every month. Care that is not paid for by Medicare.

I suspect most of them were disdainful of Medicaid and its recipients. And, yet, here they sit, paid for by Medicaid. With Trump cutting Medicare and Medicaid.

BINGO! That is exactly how the "Right" has kept power over the last 40 years. They have convinced substantial portions of the White working class that such programs are for "those people". It really goes back far more than 40 years. It's how so-called "conservatives" have held political power in the South since the end of Reconstruction.

Chris Hedges has a larger world view of history than you do. He sees beyond one elections cycle to patterns of history. He knew where we were heading with HIllary Clinton and he could no longer support that system. He's a very religious man and he votes his conscious. . He sees the damage caused by 30 years of neoliberal policies and has seen historically how that kind of corrupt system leads to the election of fascists. He sees that continuing to vote for more neoliberal policies is just going to eventually give us a fascist. He wants people to stop voting for a system that will not benefit them and start calling for revolution. The Democrats are better than the Republicans, but they are still owned and operated by corporate interests so the environment or DACA are not their first concerns (as we saw demonstrated recently).

I have no idea who this guy is. Until I read this thread I had never heard of him.

However "eventually give us a fascist"? Eventually?

He wants people to "start calling for revolution"?

Really. "A revolution is not a dinner party. It is an act of violence by which one class supplants another".

No one said a revolution was a dinner party, least of all, Chris Hedges. He's not a sunny optimist, for sure. Here is another recent piece on the utter uselessness of liberal reform affecting oligarchic rule.

" . . . Resistance to this global cabal of corporate oligarchs must also be supranational. It must build alliances with workers around the globe. It must defy the liberal institutions, including the Democratic Party, which betray workers. It is this betrayal that has given rise to fascist and protofascist movements in Europe and other countries. Donald Trump would never have been elected but for this betrayal. We will build a global movement powerful enough to bring down corporate capitalism or witness the rise of a new, supranational totalitarianism."